Dopey Week 8: What do Joy and Vulnerability have to do with Running?

I started this week inspired by my running pals who did the inaugural Naperville Half and Full Marathon. It was a gut wrenching hilly race that either lead racers to PR's or to disappointment. It was the first marathon I really 'spectated' and I found it to be a very well run race on a beautiful course...probably because I wasn't actually the one running those hills!!

Well for me the countdown is on....2 months to go to Race Day and last week I did my "half Dopey". I ran half of each race distance that I will run in January at Walt Disney World's Dopey Challenge.

Day 1- 1.55 Miles

Day 2- 3.1 Miles

Day 3- 6.55 Miles

Day 4- 13.1 Miles

Total= 24.3 miles or 1/2 the Dopey

I will admit that running didn't seem like a joy this week so I jumped to the next mantra on my wall "Embrace your Vulnerability". I decided that if I looked at this training and thought "Oh, piece of cake" then where would the challenge be! I am changing the way my mind responds to these challenges and thus my body is changing its response too. After the 4 days of running, I was VERY sore. All I could think after I was done was...Now I have to get up and run a marathon tomorrow??? Or at least in 2 short months I will have to???

So I decided too EMBRACE it and planned to head out for an AM run the next day....just to see "how bad it actually was". I planned to run 3 but actually ran 5.5. Much to my surprise, I felt pretty good. I stopped thinking "This is so hard" and started "Embracing the Suck" just as my running peeps did on those Naperville hills earlier this week!

I happily finished my week back at then intended Mantra and realized I had "Found my Joy". My body was feeling good and I was ready to jump into the huge week I have ahead...with 4,9,and 19 miles in a row. It will be the closest I have come to simulating the Dopey-ness!